Mulligatawny Soup

In keeping with my promise and my theme of soothing sick-people food, I made my first batch ever of Mulligatawny Soup, and, shockingly enough, it was edible! It didn't miraculously cure the common cold (would have been nice though) but it did provide a comforting dish that my patient could actually taste (a major feat given the amount of nose-stuff-y-ness).

This dish will forever remind me of Seinfeld. For those of you who haven't seen the Soup Nazi episode, it is a must. In choosing my recipe (lots of careful research) I stumbled upon the recipe from the show . . . I have no idea what this means given that it is a show with fictitious characters and fictitious soup, but anyways, here is the "real" recipe.

I loosely followed a recipe that I found on Epicurious, making my own substitutions and altering things as I went along. To begin, caramelize 1-2 whole diced onion(s).
When the onions begin to turn a nice tawny shade throw in 1 cup chopped carrot followed by 5 cloves chopped garlic. Saute for 5 minutes or so and then throw in your spices (2 tbsps each of garam masala and cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne, and 2 bay leaves). I like to let the spices get a little toasty (not burnt) and then add in 2 cups dry red lentils.

Stir the mixture up to coat the lentils (I like to do a round of seasoning here, the soup will need some salt in spite of the stock that goes in) and then add in 8 cups chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 15 minutes or until your lentils are tender. Remove from heat and discard the bay leaves. Puree the mixture.
Once mixture has been pureed, add in 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk and the juice of one nice fat lemon. Taste and add salt if needed (I will say that I reheated this soup as leftovers and I added a little more salt and a little more cayenne the second time around and it was a big improvement). Your soup is technically ready to go but here's how I finished mine. I put a little scoop of cooked basmati rice in a big soup bowl, topped it with a healthy portion of chicken that I roasted and shredded, and finished the whole thing off with a dollop of greek yogurt and some cilantro (as I've probably said before, I think cilantro makes virtually everything better, but that's me).

Sweet Corn Soup with Fresh Crab

My favorite corn man at the farmer's market still had some end of the season sweet corn so I couldn't resist buying more ears than I could eat. I am not always a soup person (I didn't like the texture when I was little, it has grown on me though) but it just sounded like the perfect meal to compliment the fall crispness in the air.
To make (adapted from Bon Appetit's Summer Corn Soup recipe . . . what isn't helped by the addition of bacon?):

• Roast two poblano chile's over an open flame and once they are uniformly charred/cooked and then pop them into a paper bag and fold the bag to close. Set aside.
• Shuck three or four ears of corn and cut the kernels off.

• Break the cobs in half and toss them into a pot with 3 cups of milk, a couple sprigs of fresh thyme, two bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Bring just to a boil then reduce and let simmer for 5 before turning off. Set aside.

• In a separate pan drop a tablespoon of butter and saute chopped bacon (about 1/2 cup).
• Once browned, add in 2 diced carrots, 1 diced onion, 3 cloves chopped garlic and the majority of your reserved corn kernels (I saved some for garnish - they were delicious raw). Cook over medium heat until the onion is translucent and the carrot is tender.

• Remove your poblanos from the paper bag and just rub off the charred skin (it should slide right off). Cut off the stem and remove the seeds then chop up the meaty goodness.
• Add the milk mixture in with the vegetables along with a handful of cilantro, 2 cups of water and your chopped poblanos. Once again, season to taste, if necessary (bacon = salt). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minute
• Remove the corn cobs and bay leaves then place everything in a blender and give it a zap (to your preference - chunky to silky).
• I finished by putting a big lump of crab meat on top along with some fresh sliced avocado, a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprinkling of raw corn kernels (& cilantro! - i put it on everything).

I served the soup with sliced radishes and fresh baked biscuits. I am completely biased, being the maker, but I will definitely make this again. One of my favorite homemade meals of late.